“What’s wrong? Need to use the bathroom?”
She shakes her head. “No. I… My legs are stiff.”
“Then sit. There aren’t any land mines in the cushions.”
“I didn’t think there were, but back in your office you were upset when I tried to sit without an invitation.” She sinks into the smallest of the couches and arranges herself. The poufed skirt makes her look like an innocent fairy in my living room, her hair tumbling over a slender shoulder and her cheeks slightly rosy. Her mouth is soft, her lips full and vulnerable, the kind that beg for a kiss that starts out gently but morphs into something hard and intense.
Heat starts in my belly and spreads through me, all the way to my fingertips and toes. I hate it that I notice how pretty and kissable she is.
Back at the office, huh? If she’s fishing for an apology, forget it. I pull out my phone with a nonchalance I don’t feel, my body propped against the bar. “I gave your information to my banker. He’ll reach out tomorrow and arrange for a wire for two million.”
“Um. I don’t know if they’re the kind of people you can just wire money to.”
I tilt my head. “What does that mean?”
“They’re loan sharks. I don’t know if they bank like normal people.” She clears her throat.
What in the world…?“Are you crazy?” My hand tightens around my phone. It’s that or shake her until she develops some common sense. “You borrowed money from loan sharks?”
“Not me. Aaron,” she says defensively.
My jaw drops. “What the hell?You’re paying off Aaron’s debt?”
She nods.
I stare, trying to understand. The entire conversation has taken on a surreal tone. “Why? He’s a big boy. Let him handle it.” Somewhere in my head, a voice says,If she doesn’t have to take care of the two million, you won’t have any leverage over her. But I don’t care. It’s stupid of her to takeon that kind of debt when she doesn’t need to. Didn’t anybody advise her?
“I wanted to, but they came after me and Sherry. I couldn’t let them hurt us.”
“But loan sharks?” I shake my head.
Fiona lets out a hollow laugh. “I had the same reaction. But what can I do? They can have Aaron and do whatever they want to him, but I owe Sherry everything. I can’t let her suffer.”
I’ve seen Zachary’s wife a few times at social functions. Pretty, but a bit fragile. Pleasant enough, and well mannered. But I can’t picture her doing anything that’d inspire such devotion from Fiona. Sherry’s always lost in some Buddhist scripture or mantra. Won’t touch meat or alcohol, saying taking a life is bad. Apparently, plants don’t qualify as “lives.”
Fiona continues, “I don’t know exactly how to make the payment, but I’m sure they’ll be in touch soon. They text every day. And I’d prefer to not involve Aaron, since he might try to take the money and run. He has a gambling problem. Did you know that?”
“No, but I’m not surprised.” Aaron was at Harvard as well, two years ahead of us. He was a piece of shit back then, and the rumor was that, in addition to the usual drinking, he indulged in drugs, hookers and every other vice known to man. Nobody made a big deal about it, especially not the administration. The Obermans donated a large sum of money each year, and the amount jumped while Aaron and Fiona were attending. “Anyway, I can arrange for the money to be paid however you want, although I don’t encourage cash. Too dangerous.”
“I know. I’m not going to be that reckless.”
“Really? Because you’ve been reckless ever since you reentered my life.” Fiona was reckless when she barged into my office…when she decided to marry Jude…when she sent me those photos. And now she’s trying to pay off money her brother owes to some loan sharks. Concern clouds my better judgment, and I sit next to her—then immediately realize it was a mistake.
This close, I can smell the scent of us on her. It’s like she belongs to me in every way, and if I push her back and spread her, she’ll welcome me into her wet, tight pussy with a soft moan, then beg me to use her for my pleasure.
A prickling sensation spreads. My dick hardens like it didn’t just explode inside her less than an hour ago. My fingertips twitch, and I curl my hands, refusing to touch her. I don’t want her to think she’s in charge. She will never be in charge. I’m never giving her that much control and power again.
“I was desperate,” she says. “But now I’m not. I have the money, and once I pay them, they’ll leave me and Sherry alone.”
I sigh. “You realize the loan sharks are probably just going to jack up the interest, right?”
She blinks in bewilderment. “Why would they?”
“Because they can. Because they’re assholes. If Aaron went into debt while gambling, they probably have mob connections.”
“Well…” She shakes her head. “I’ll deal with that when it happens.”
“How? Are you planning to borrow more from me?”
